


Skyborn

by CarryOnScreaming



Category: Skins (UK)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/F, Fluff, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-10-19 13:29:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17602259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarryOnScreaming/pseuds/CarryOnScreaming
Summary: On a clear night the sky filled with lightning and a strange man appeared leaving five babies in the care of two unsuspecting cousins.Superhero AU originally posted on FF.Net.





	1. The Lightning Filled Sky

20 Years ago

For a night in the middle of April the sky was the clearest they had ever remembered seeing it. Gina Campbell and Anthea Stonem were cousins living in an old farm house they’d inherited from their grandfather. The house sat just outside of the city of Bristol, ordinary house outside an ordinary city were ordinary people lead ordinary lives.

This night with the clearest of sky’s wasn’t only unusual for the lack of clouds but because flashes of lightening lit up the entire night. Anthea and Gina sat at a small plastic garden table in front of the farm house, drinking wine and watching the sky, some people would have called them mad for not staying inside but they preferred to think of it as being somewhat adventurous. 

“Oooo looks like it’s getting closer” Gina said as a particularly bright flash went off less than a mile away.

“We should be alright” Anthea shrugged and refilled her wine glass, “and if we’re not… at least the wines good.”

Gina laughed and shook her head at her cousin, the two had always been close with their mothers being sisters and neither of them having siblings. When their grandfather had passed they decided to move into the house together, with more than enough space for the both of them and quietly sat just outside of the city it made it pretty much perfect for them.

Another flash of lightning, this one closer than the last made the girls jump slightly, maybe going inside soon would be a good idea, Gina thought to herself. 

“Maybe we should go in Ant” Gina said and Anthea nodded in agreement, the two stood to head in when another flash came down mere meters away from them.

This one was different to the others though. Where the lightning had hit the ground stood a man with a large basket cradled in his arms. He placed the basket on the floor before stepping back and disappearing in another lightning flash.  
Gina and Anthea looked at each other confused before staring at where the basket lay on the ground. Gina began to walk towards it cautiously, anything could have been in there for all she knew but she certainly wasn’t expecting what she saw. 

Five babies sat in the basket none of them older than a few months. Each child was wrapped in a monogrammed blanket with what Gina assumed was their names emblazoned on it. She picked up one of the children and held the girl in her arms, “Naomi” she read off of the blanket. She looked into the baby girls bright blue eyes that she swore could have matched her own and smiled. In years to come she would swear that this was the exact moment that she fell in love with her adopted daughter. 

Anthea watched her cousin hold the child with such care that she walked over to the basket and peered inside at the rest of the abandoned children. She reached for the other girl and looked at her curiously, she had a small tuft of brunette hair and her already striking blue eyes stared back at Anthea with wonder, “Elizabeth” she read the name on the blanket.

Gina bent down, placing Naomi back into the basket before lifting it up to take the children inside out of the cold, Anthea followed close behind with baby Elizabeth in her arms. Once inside Gina made her way into the living room and placed the basket on the sofa before sitting beside it. 

“Jonah Jerimiah, James Cook, Carter” she read the names on the three boy’s blankets out loud.

“What should we do with them?” Anthea asked still cradling Elizabeth in her arms.

Gina looked on as her cousin cooed over the baby girl before shaking her head and answering, “I think we should look after them” she said “there’s something special about them… I can feel it and other people might not understand, especially if we told them a man came down in a bolt of lightning and left them.”

“You make a good point” Anthea concluded “okay… they stay.”

Present day

I love nights like this.   
Clear skies as far as the eye can see making it a lot easier for me to get around up here. Tonight’s a Sunday which is a lot less hassle than Fridays and Saturdays that’s for sure what with there being so many drunks around it makes it difficult to make out the real crimes from people dicking about with their mates. 

I sat on the edge of the roof of a bank with three floors, keeping to the shadows so I could watch for danger but not draw any attention. That had been happening more and more recently, photos of us in newspapers, footage filmed on mobile phones shown on the news. They were calling us the ‘super squad’, really imaginative in my opinion and how on earth do three people make a squad anyway? There were really four of us but JJ was our eyes and ears behind the scenes, he’d never been one for the physical side of things, besides the boy was a complete genius he was better to us at home keeping an eye on things.

That left Cook, Effy and I to go out into the city, using our special gifts to help people. Effy could control the wind, she could use it to fly and create tornados but mainly to freak out whatever criminal came her way, the public named her ‘Hurricane’, I laughed when I heard it on the news but it kind of grew on her after a while. Cook was fast and never got out of breath that doubled with his keen eyesight made him a natural with a bow, he got christened ‘The Bowman’ because of it. As for me? I can jump… like insanely high, I don’t get out of breath just like Cook and I’m stronger than a regular human being but it was the jumping that stood out to people most so I ended up being dubbed ‘The Leaper’.

The leaper… I wasn’t sure about it at first, it was weird having this… identity that wasn’t just me anymore. I’m Naomi by the way, just in case you were wondering. Naomi at home but The Leaper everywhere else, well… when I’m in costume that is. I know I know, costumes seem a little clichéd but they help keep our real identities a secret which is great, especially since it means we don’t have to worry about Gina and Anthea as much. My costume was nothing elaborate, black skinny jeans, black hoodie with a black denim vest over the top, black vans, black bandana to cover my face with my hood up, pretty basic but it certainly did the job, Effy and Cooks were much the same only Cook preferred not to have sleeves, easier for him to manoeuvre and Effy preferred to go without the hoodie and instead crafted her own separate hood.

But as I said earlier, I’m perched on the rooftop of this bank glancing over the people walking the streets, not that there’s many of them at 10pm on a Sunday. I stood and stretched my arms before leaping from the top of the three story building and landing foot first on the ground before launching myself back into the air straight away, have I mentioned how much I love this? I leapt over a convenience store and landed in a deserted car park. 

I was about to move again when I felt a presence behind me. It was familiar but not at the same time. I turned to see him my ‘brother’ not JJ or Cook, no their presence would have been comforting and not at all cold but this? This was, I could feel the chill run through my body as he walked towards me. He kept his hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket as he walked, soon he was close enough for me to see the dulling blue of his eyes through his floppy dyed black fringe.

“Miss me Naomikins?” he asked, stopping just over a metre away from me.

“Anthea and Gina have… but me? Not so much” I replied.

He smirked and cocked his head to the side, “really?” he took a step forward, straightening up and running his hands through his hair, “you don’t miss your own brother?”

I shook my head “I don’t need to miss my brothers, I see them everyday” I shot back “you… you are not my brother.”

He laughed a bitter, dark, hollow laugh, “well then… I guess I’ll be going” he said stepping backwards “but expect to see me again… Leaper” he spat my name.

“I won’t be looking forward to it” I replied sarcastically.

A humourless laugh left his lips before a storm cloud descended, he hopped on as it began to rise back into the air, “the oncoming storm is fast approaching” he shouted before disappearing into the sky on the storm cloud.

I watched the spot where he’d been standing, everyone’s going to love this, I thought. I was just about to jump when I heard a yell, it sounded like a young woman… can’t be good, I thought. I ran towards the sound, it was close by from what I could tell. I leapt over a small building before landing beside a short girl with bright red hair, I guessed it was her that made the noise and was probably spot on judging by the six foot bloke standing only metres away from us.

“Best run along now mate” I told him in my best no nonsense voice.

“What are you gonna’ do about it?” he laughed “gonna’ jump on me or somfin’”

I saw movement from the top of one of the nearby buildings making me laugh, both the man and the short red head look confused.

“The fuck are you laughin’ at?” the man asked angrily.

“Nothing” I shrugged “but you won’t be laughing if you don’t walk away” I told him seriously.

“What’s tha’ supposed to mean?” he shouted “know what? Fuck you and fuck tha’ lil’ bitch behind you… I’ll take you both!”

He made to move forward but yelped when an arrow shot through the air, straight through his hand and into the wall behind him. Cook dropped from the building and came over, standing toe to toe with the man.

“Next time do what Leap asks… alright?” the man nodded, scrunching his face up from the pain in his hand, Cook turned to face me “I’ll stay with him ‘till the cops come, you take her home alright.”

“Sure Bow” I turned to face the girl only just noticing how attractive she is, her hair was the brightest red I think I’d ever seen and her eyes just drew me in, they looked at me with such warmth even though I was a total stranger. 

Cook coughed, snapping me out of my staring contest with the red head, “what’s your name?” I asked.

She smiled slightly raising her eyebrow, obviously caught my staring then, “Emily” she replied in a voice much huskier than I thought she would have.

“Well then Emily… let’s get you home.”


	2. A Walk Home With A Good Kind Of Danger

“Thanks… ”she said from beside me, breaking the silence that had fallen between us while we walked “…you didn’t have to walk me home.”

“It’s no problem really” I told her and it really wasn’t. Sure I didn’t always walk home the people I saved, in fact most of the time I would leave them in the company of the police and disappear back into the rooftops but with her I felt like I should walk her home, like if I didn’t make sure she was there with my own eyes then I would worry. That’s another thing, I don’t usually worry too much about the people we save, I mean once we’ve saved them we don’t tend stick around for long before heading off somewhere else. 

“Well I’m sure you’d prefer a faster method of travelling anyway.”

“Well I could pick you up and run across rooftops till we reach your house” I said with humour in my voice “but I thought walking might give you time to get over that back there.”

She smiled at my words making me smile in return, not that she could see mind you I still had my bandana covering the lower part of my face with my hood up, “what were you doing back there anyway?” I asked curiously.

She let out a heavy sigh before replying “I was out with my sister” she told me “and she wondered off somewhere, knowing her it probably had something to do with a bloke, so I decided going home was way better than hanging around on the off chance that she didn’t fuck off to some random guys flat.”

“Okay…” I looked at her, trying to gauge how she was feeling before I gave up and asked her “so how are you?”

She stopped to stare at me, raising her eyebrow, god that’s hot I thought before shaking myself out of my thoughts, “I’m alright” she answered a small smile played at the corner of her lips “… how are you?” she asked.

I laughed, I definitely like this girl which probably isn’t a good idea considering she doesn’t know my actual name… and she hasn’t seen what I look like… and I don’t actually know anything about her but like her I did.

“Me?” she nodded “yeah I’m good… in fact… I’m great” I told her looking her straight in the eyes “I’m having quite a good time.”

She looked back into my eyes with a sort of wonder and curiosity “is that your way of saying you enjoy my company?” 

“Maybe” I shrugged “how far till your place?” I asked.

“You’re keen” she laughed “not far I promise… it’s like two streets away.”

“That’s not what I meant” I gave her one of my trademark eye rolls before starting to walk again.

She fell into step beside me again as we fell back into a comfortable silence. It was nice to just be with someone who wasn’t part of my family; yeah I see and speak to people when I’m in costume all the time but it never feels this relaxed, even when I’m just going around as me, as Naomi, I don’t ever feel this at ease with people I only just met. But this short red haired girl with the big warm brown eyes, surprisingly husky voice, infectious laughter and beautiful smile just drew me in, something that I don’t really know how to respond to if I’m honest. 

While we’re being honest I’ll confess that I never found it easy to make friends, Gina and Anthea wanted us to be around other children but they obviously didn’t want us using our powers around them in case something bad happened, so it was a bit difficult growing up. Not that it mattered when we were young; I had Effy, Cook, JJ and Carter… Carter, well that’s a story for another time I think, I don’t really like to talk about him much. Aside from making new friends being difficult having two personas makes it almost impossible to date anyone, sure I’ve slept with a few girls but all of the lying that comes with what we do makes it harder to maintain anything more than that. It can be incredibly frustrating at times but I try not to think about it, I mean I did choose this path, I could very well have gone off to Uni and become a lawyer but I wanted to do this. 

We always knew we were different from regular humans and when we were sixteen Anthea and Gina sat us down and told us where we came from. We had speculated sure, each of us coming up with our own theories for what we could possibly be or where we came from. I personally wanted to know more, I’m sure the other do too but I voiced it more than they did. I’m curious about it, I feel a right to know why we were abandoned… and who our parents are. Not that Gina and Anthea haven’t been amazing, they are our family no matter what but I still want to know, I mean we came with names so there must have been someone who cared right?

It took a second for me to notice that Emily had stopped walking outside of a building that must have held about six flats. She stared at me once more with those curious brown eyes.

“Well… this is me” she motioned her head towards the building.

“Right…” I said fidgeting with my hands, this was the only time I’d felt awkward with her in the time we’d spent in each other’s company, “…would you like me to see you in?” I asked.

She raised her eyebrow cheekily at me, her lips curving into a slight mischievous grin.

“…Into your flat…” I rolled my eyes again and she giggled.

“All that does is draw more of my attention to your eyes” she told me.

“Oh really?” it was my turn to raise an eyebrow this time “how much of your attention is on them already?”

“Quite a lot” I couldn’t really tell in the light of the street lamp but I’m sure she was blushing slightly, “you have beautiful eyes” she told me before averting her gaze.

“Th… thanks…” I said not expecting the compliment, now I know for a fact I was blushing and she caught it as well when she lifted her head.

“Are you blushing?” she asked.

“Nope… not me….” I tried to lie but she just smiled and shook her head.

“I don’t suppose own a phone do you?”

“Why…” I asked curiously.

“…Because I’d quite like to see you again… if that’s okay that is…” she looked a little nervous asking and I wandered why before realising I was still in costume.

“How about I come here…” I suggested “just tell me when and I’ll make sure I’m here.”

She thought about it for a second before answering me “I’d like that” she smiled “how about tomorrow? 10pm okay?” she asked.

“No problem, the other two can cover me for a few ours” I smiled to myself behind my bandana.

“Well… goodnight” she smiled before turning to head into her flat.

I watched her reach the door before she turned to face me again, “do I get to know you name? or do I just call you leaper?” she asked a smirk on her lips.

I laughed and shook my head “not just yet” I told her “maybe another time.”

“I’ll hold you too that” she called before going inside and closing the door behind her.

You can hold me to anything you want I though, I turned leaping onto the roof of a building and running off all with a huge smile on my face. I could feel my heart beat faster at the thought of seeing Emily again tomorrow which was a feeling I’d never had before, it felt amazing and dangerous… but a good kind of danger.


	3. Coffee Is My Only Motivation

I woke up to the sun streaming through a gap in the curtains. I automatically turned over trying to block out the light and get back to sleep before hearing a knock at my door.

“Go away!” I called to the intruder, some need to know information… I’m not a morning person.

“Naomi it’s noon, Gina wants you up” Effy’s bored voice came from the other side of the door “I made coffee” and with that piece of information I heard her footsteps descend the stairs.

I groaned before getting up the mention of coffee my only motivation. I didn’t get in till the back of two mainly because I was in no mood to sleep, I was happy enough leaping from roof to roof for a few extra hours.

I left my room and trudged down both sets of stairs to the kitchen. The attic was converted a few years ago to make more space, seven people in a four bedroom house was getting a bit cramped so now myself and Cook sleep in the two loft rooms. I love sleeping in the loft, it’s out of the way so I can have my own space and it’s handy for getting in late so I can just hop through the window without waking anyone.

I plonked myself down at the kitchen table beside a smirking Effy who I shook my head at and poured myself coffee from the pot on the table.

“Nice to see you’re still alive” Gina, my mother, remarked as she came into the kitchen poured herself coffee sitting at the table with us, “late night?” she asked.

I looked at her suspiciously, taking my time to drink some coffee for responding, “Yeah… why?”

“Oh no reason dear” she responds sipping her coffee.

I look at Effy whose still smirking and furrow my brow, those two must be up to something, I sigh and drink more of my coffee enjoying the silence of the kitchen before the back door opens.

“That coffee for me yeah?” Cook yells coming into the room and dropping his bow on the table.

“Help yourself” Effy replies nonchalantly while sipping away at her own and flicking through a newspaper.

Cook poured himself a cup and gulped it down some spilling onto his already disgusting green polo shirt before wiping his face with the bottom and putting the cup back on the table and taking a seat.

“James, weapons off the table please” Gina tells him.

Cook sheepishly removes the bow and slides it under his chair before looking at Gina, “sorry mum.”

Gina just smiled sweetly at him “just please try and remember” she tells him.

Cook nods before turning his attention to me and grinning “so Blondie…” ugh I already know where this is going “did you get Little Red home alright?” he asked wiggling his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes at him “yes, Emily got home just fine thank you.”

“Who’s Emily dear?” my mother asked with a smile already covering her face, well now I know what’s up with her and Effy, they’ve speaking about while I was sleeping… again.

“She’s a girl who Cook and I saved from an unsavoury sort of guy and I walked her home” I told her.

She took in the information and smiled wider, if it were bloody possible, “she must be pretty special dear” she remarked, I raised an eyebrow in question, “well, it’s not like you to walk random girls you save home… is it?”

I sighed, “no it’s not” I replied finishing the last of my coffee and taking a large breath before going on, “I… think she’s different…” I mumbled.

I’ve never been the best when it comes to sharing my feeling but if there’s one thing I’ve learned growing up with both Gina and Effy in the same house it’s that they probably know anyway so I might as well talk.

“What do you mean different?” mum asks curiously.

“Means she likes her” Cook says, I look at him wandering when he got so perceptive, “I’m not blind, you two was staring at each other for quite a bit yesterday… pretty sure you were drooling as well” he chuckled.

“I was not drooling… besides I had my face covered… so how would you have known” I huffed.

He just chuckled again “calm down Naomikins, I’m just messing.”

I sat up straight suddenly remembering what else happened last night, “I saw Carter” I told them.

“Where?” Effy asked, sitting up straight and looking at me intently.

“Just a random car park” I told her “he told me to expect to see him again and said ‘the oncoming storm is fast approaching’ before fucking off on one of those storm clouds.”

“Could mean trouble” Cook was thinking out loud “We’ll just have to keep an eye out.”

Gina let out a weary sigh “I just wish the poor boy could see sense and come home” she shook her head “I’ll tell Anthea, you know how she gets when he’s mentioned.”

We all nodded in agreement, Anthea had adopted Carter and Effy while Gina had adopted Me, Cook and JJ although we all act like brothers and sisters anyway. It had hurt Anthea the most when Carter left, she blamed herself when in reality he was just more messed up than anyone could have guessed, but like I’ve said before, his story is one for another time right now I had other things on my mind… things that had bright red hair and beautiful eyes.

“Well I’m going to do some gardening while the suns still out” Gina announced before getting up and leaving the kitchen, soon after I heard the back door open and close.

I turned to talk to Effy and Cook “I need a favour from you two” I told them.

“Does it have something to do with this Emily girl?” Effy asked, that ever present smirk still plastered all over her features.  
“Yes” I sighed “…I’m meeting Emily tonight to hang out for a bit… so I need you guys to cover for me on the ‘being a superhero’ front” I used air quotes for the last bit, being called a superhero still seemed foreign to me.

“Sure thing Naomikins” Cook cheered “anything to help a friend in need… of a shag” he laughed.

I rolled my eyes at him, something that had become common practice, “I’m not shagging her Cook… I want to get to know her.”

“Okay Naomikins, if you say so yeah” he smirked “…you definitely fancy her though, right?”

“Yes I fancy her Cook… I mean how could I not…?”

“Right ho!” he exclaimed “then tonight you’ll go get your girl.”

“Just remember your phone in case there’s a problem” Effy told me.

I made a move to go shower and do something mildly productive before tonight when Effy coughed to grab my attention again.

“I take it you’re meeting her in costume?” I nodded, seeing as I’d met her dressed as the Leaper I figured it was fairly obvious that I’d be seeing her again the same way, “well just remember to be careful” Effy told me “you’ll want to tell her but don’t be too hasty.”

“I know eff” with that I went about my business all the while thinking about a certain redhead and how I was going to manage keeping the Leaper and Naomi separate around her. You just have to keep it up until you’re sure she’s safe, I told myself, pffft yeah right, was my only after thought, I already know what kind of dangerous she is.


	4. Balcony's Are So Clichéd

Here I am again, sat on the edge of a roof just like every other night. It’s quiet at least, just the noise from the odd car breaking the calm, it’s nice. Still I wouldn’t mind some action to help pass the time. I took my phone from the pocket inside my vest to check the time, only 9pm, I sighed and put my phone away, this wait is taking forever.  
Deciding sitting around wasn’t helping pass the time much I decided to go for a run around. I have a quick look around to check for cars before letting myself fall from the building and rebound off of the middle of the road sending myself back up into the air. 

Oh yeah, this is definitely better than just sitting around. I smile widely beneath my bandana, I fucking love this feeling, just me and the rooftops. There’s no denying that it’s the best way to calm my nerves and after just bouncing around for half an hour I decide to slowly make my way towards Emily’s place.

“Not as far away as I thought” I mutter to myself as I walk across an old apartment building, I must have subconsciously started heading here already. 

I can already feel myself getting nervous as I reach the door, I shouldn’t be nervous I mean come on, I jump off of buildings everyday how is it possible that my palms are sweating because of some social interaction with a virtual stranger. 

I spend a few minutes trying to compose myself before pushing the buzzer to Emily’s flat when I hear the familiar laugh from above me. I step back and look up as the amused redhead continues to laugh from the second floor balcony she’s stood on. 

“What’s so funny?” I ask barely holding in a chuckle of my own as her infectious laughter fills my ears.

She shakes her head “nothing I promise, I’ll come let you in.”

“No need” I say before hopping up and onto the balcony, her eyes widen a little in surprise.

“Sorry, forgot you could do that” she said a shy smile playing on her lips “next time you should just use this door” she smirked at me before heading into the flat.

She might actually be the death of me, I think as I follow her into the surprisingly spacious open living room and kitchen area. I took the chance to look around while Emily busied herself in the kitchen. It was clean and tastefully decorated, the off white walls where home to quite a few photographs that I assumed Emily must have taken.

“Do you want a glass of wine?” she asked from the kitchen while I was studying a picture of the Bristol skyline that looked like it was taken from one of my favourite rooftops.

“It’d be wasted on me I’m afraid” I laughed as I turned towards her “alcohol doesn’t really affect me.” 

“Good to know” she chuckled “a glass of water then?”

“That’d be great thanks.”

X

“That’s awful” she slapped my leg as she laughed.

“I know it is but he totally deserved it” I laughed with her at the memory.

In our efforts to get to know each other she asked me to tell her something from when I was a child so I decided to tell the her about the time I grabbed Cook and left him at the top of an 11ft tree when we were nine because he thought it’d be funny to leave a selection of rubber bugs in my bed.

“They weren’t even real” she tried to reason with me as her laughing began to subside.

“I was nine” I defended “and he’s always been a little shit.”

She shook her head “my brothers the same, he’s a little perv though, used to look through the keyhole when Katie or I were in the shower” she scrunched up her face.

“Wow that is pervy” I laughed “Coo-… I mean Bow was never quite that bad” shit I almost slipped up there.

She looked at me curiously before speaking “you know I’m not going to do anything to harm you guy’s right? And I’m not going to go to the media…” I could hear the sincerity in her voice putting me at ease as she spoke “…it’d be a really stupid thing to do considering that I enjoy spending time with you” she smiled.

I sighed “I know” I told her looking her right in the eyes “but it’s not just me I have to think about… there’s my siblings… the people who raised us… so I can’t tell you everything, not just yet at least” I gave her a sad smile.

She nodded her understanding “I get it… I can wait” I swear my heart swelled at those words, “we can still hangout though right?”

“Of course” I smiled though she still couldn’t see because of my bandana “nothing could stop me.”

Our sweet moment was broken by the sound of my phone ringing; I answered sending Emily an apologetic look, “Yeah?”

“Naomi its JJ” came the voice on the other end of the line “There’s a fire in a tower block on Broad Street, it has 26 floors I believe your assistance would be greatly appreciated.”

“I’m on my way” I told him before hanging up and turning to Emily, “I have to go.”

“I know” she told me as she stood moved closer before hugging me tightly she leant up to whisper good luck in my ear before pulling away “make sure you stay in one piece” she smiled “I’d like to do this again sometime.”

“Likewise” I told her before leaning in, making her close her eyes, I shifted my bandana enough to press my lips to her cheek. I don’t know what possessed me to do it but the blush that spread across her face, as I quickly covered mine back up and pulled away, was totally worth it.

“See you soon” I called before leaping from the balcony and off into the night to do what I do best.


	5. Burn Baby Burn

Shit.

“Bow, get that kid out” I shout over all the commotion as we try to save everyone from the flames.

The top six floors were cut off from the rest of the building because of the fire starting on the 25th floor. We’d managed to clear four floors between the three of us but it was getting more difficult as the fire spread and made the building less stable.

“I got him” Cook shouted back to me, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and holding in front of the kids face, “start checking across the hall” he coughed “we gotta’ get out soon.” 

I nodded and ran through the open door into the hallway, kicking the front door of the opposite flat as I went, the door splintered and thick black smoke filled the hall. Shit, shit and shit again. I drop to the floor fast so as to inhale as little of the smoke as I can.

“Anyone in there?” I yell into the room.

With no response I head in anyway, crawling so I could see anyone unconscious on the floor. Living room seems clear, I through an open door into what looks like a bedroom. Floors clear and Just one bed in the room, I climb up to look, it’s clear too thank god. I stay on my feet, using the walls to guide me to the next room, shit a kid’s room. 

Seeing is getting more and more difficult making me stumble onto a bed, I’m sure I have a small heart attack as I trip followed closely by a wave of relief as I realise this bed is empty as well.

I leave the room as fast as I can without tripping again and do a quick sweep of the empty kitchen before breaking the window and climbing to the next floor. I quickly smash the next window and pause to let some of the smoke out before throwing myself in.

“Leap, it’s spreading pretty bad” Effy shouted to me as she hovered next to a broken top floor window with an elderly man in her arms, “I doubt the structure is going to last much longer so be quick, Bow’s in the one down the hall and those are the last two, I’ll go help him after I drop this guy off.”

I nod “okay but be careful both of you” I call to her before she smirks at me in that signature Effy way.

“Aren’t we always?” she responds before heading to the ground, I shake my head. I swear those two think all of this is a game sometimes.

I pull myself into the living room with the smoke cleared a bit making it easier to see, It’s clear, I make a quick sweep of the kitchen before heading to the bedrooms. Both are clear, I let out a sigh of relief. 

The relief is short lived however when I hear what sounds liked Cook yell from the next flat. I jump into action, it takes a lot to make Cook cry out in pain so whatever it is can’t be good. I don’t even need to open the door to get to him since part of the roof has caved in. I jump over the pile of debris, landing a little too rough for my liking and making a piece of the outer wall crumble. Fuck.

“Cook” I call out “where are you?”

“We’re here” I hear Effy call back to me from one of the bedrooms.

I barely manage to make them with all the smoke and dust in the air but I can see why Cook yelled. I can imagine having your legs trapped under god knows how much rubble would be uncomfortable.

“What happened?” I ask them while moving the rubble off of Cook.

“The ceiling was about to cave when we came to check the room” he told me while he tried to move his legs, “we were just gonna’ stick our heads in and get out but that kid was here so…”

“So I grabbed the kid and Bow “I turned to look at Effy and the small girl in her arms before returning to moving debris, “pushed us out of the way off the rubble.”

“Alright, good job Bow” I told Cook you laughed.

“Cheers Leap” he replied through gritted teeth as he moved his left leg from under the rubble, “glad you approve” he chuckled.

“Dumb ass” I mutter under my breath, knowing both Effy and Cook would still be able to hear me, “Hurricane get the girl out, we’ll be down in a minute.”

“Okay but make sure you are” she said as she made her way to the already blown out window, “I will not hesitate to come back up here and kick both of your asses” she added in typical Effy fashion before flying out of the flat.

I turn back to Cook having moved most of the rubble off of him “Can you get your right leg out?”

“I think so” he replied managing to knock the last of it off himself, “Might need some help to stand though.”

“Thought so” I replied smiling and grabbing both of his hands, pulling him to his feet. 

We made our way to the window a little slower than I would have liked what with Cook limping slightly. I can hear creaking from behind us as another wall begins to give way, let’s hope we make it down in time.

“Ready Cook” I ask as I secure his arm around my shoulders, “you know how it works, make sure you don’t touch the floor before me so you don’t shatter your femurs.”

I could hear him chuckle over the sounds of falling brick as we stepped onto the narrow window ledge, “I know Blondie, I know” he told me before I swept my arm under his legs taking all of his weight, “just don’t drop me yeah?” he said a little more seriously.

“Never” I told him before bending my legs slightly and jumping off of the ledge.


	6. Teabags Are Important

“Aww, come on… please?” I laughed from my chair in the corner of the room as he batted his eyelashes trying to look innocent.

“No I have already made my decision and before you say it” she looked at him pointedly as he tried and failed to interrupt her, “I know you heal faster than regular humans but I’m a mother, I worry, it’s practically in the job description” she told him while waving her hands around for emphasis “so could you please listen to me just this once and sit on your backside James.”

“Okay” he pouted sinking back into the sofa “sorry mum.”

“That’s what I like to hear” she smiled before turning to where I was still giggling in the corner, “I don’t know what you’re laughing at, you’re just as bad if not worse.”

“Well this isn’t about me” I shrug.

“She has got a point though Naomikins” Cook laughs.

“Tosser” I mutter under my breath while getting up and making my way to the kitchen.

“I heard that!” well of course he did, I shake my head and dropping down into one of the chairs around the table.

“Oh Naomi love” mum began as she waltzed past me flicking the kettle on, “could you go with JJ when he goes to do the shop?” she asked “only I want to make sure James doesn’t go wandering off, you know what he’s like.”

I sighed knowing exactly what Cook is like, that boy never sits still for long. To be honest I’m surprised we haven’t heard him moving around already since we’ve been in the kitchen. 

“Sure mum” I tell her not really wanting to go but knowing agreeing is far easier than trying to bargain with her when she’s trying to over mother one of us.

“Thanks love” she smiled at me before turning to throw tea bags into mugs “JJ already knows what we need, you just have to remember to fill up the car” she paused to get milk from the fridge “oh, and no super powers.”

I roll my eyes “I know, you don’t have to tell me every time I leave the house” chirst, anyone would think I was twelve again and not twenty.

“I know it annoys you when I tell you all the time” she sighs “but one slip up and I could lose you… all of you. So please just give me this small piece of mind by letting me be an overbearing mother every now and again.”

I exhaled slowly “I know, I’m sorry” I told her truthfully.

“I know” she said as she turned back to the now boiled kettle “now go fetch your brother will you” she looked over her shoulder smiling, “we need more tea bags.”

X

“Looks like that’s us finished” JJ nods mainly to himself as he scans the contents of the trolley while I watch on from beside him.

The great thing about shopping with JJ is there’s no need for lists or anything, his supercharged photographic memory comes in handy for mundane tasks as well as storing away any information that might be of use to us. The only downside to that big beautiful brain of his is that he finds it difficult to interact with regular human beings sometimes meaning he hardly ever goes out without one of us with him, not that any of us mind, we all love JJ just the way he is and wouldn’t change him for the world.

“Are you okay Naomi?” JJ’s voice snaps me out of my own little world.

“Sorry Jay, I was miles away” I apologise “are we ready to go?”

“Yes, we just need tea bags and then we will have everything on the list” he tells me smiling.

“Alright” I nod, “why don’t you go to the check out and I’ll grab the tea bags?”

He nods in agreement but that doesn’t stop me noticing his eyes darting around nervously.

“You’ll be fine Jay” I tell him “I’ll just be a minute.”

He nods more assertively this time “okay Naomi.”

I smile at him reassuringly one more time before going to grab the last thing we need and I continue to smile to myself as I head towards the tea and coffee isle. While I know to most people, my family included, that I’m famous for being a bit of a grumpy git I can’t help but smile lately.

I mean people were really beginning to notice the good we were doing which was great and exciting, although it put us in a little more danger and it meant we had to be extra careful that no one saw our faces I couldn’t help but feel proud of what we were managing to do. 

The other thing making me smile shouldn’t even logically be a factor at this point but damn it even thinking about Emily makes me smile when it really shouldn’t this much. It’s too much too soon I know but at the same time I don’t really care. It’s like she’s this beautiful unspoiled piece of the world that I want to wrap up and keep safe, stupid I know but hey, I can dream right?

Back to the task at hand though, I grab one of the larger boxes and turn on my heels heading back to JJ. By the time I get to him he’s almost packed everything and doesn’t look as freaked out as I would normally expect him to be having been left on his own for so long in public.

“Sorry I took so long Jay” I say throwing the tea bags on with the rest of the stuff and moving to help him.  
“It’s okay Naomi I was speaking Lara” he says with a glint in his eye.

“Lara?” I ask with a slight smirk to my tone.

“That would be me” the girl scanning items said a little hesitantly “I didn’t realise he had a girlfriend though” she looked a little sheepish.

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh, I’ve been mistaken for many things in my time but never JJ’s girlfriend. I shake my head at the confused look on her face and see that JJ’s gone bright red.

“I’m his sister” I tell her, her expression quickly changes from confusion to embarrassment making me laugh again until I’m brought out of my fit by JJ’s voice.

“My apologies” he said “Lara this is my sister Naomi, Naomi this is Lara” he introduces us trying to make the situation less awkward which works surprisingly well.

The three of us keep a steady conversation going while we finish packing up our things and paying. I purposefully walk behind JJ when saying our goodbyes making sure to give Lara his number as I trail slightly behind.

Who would of thought an ordinary trip to the supermarket would be kind of fun, I smile to myself as JJ talks about Lara animatedly focussing mainly on that fact that she didn’t think he was weird. I tune out slightly though when a familiar shade of red catches my eye and I see Emily speaking to someone who looks almost exactly like her.

Must be Katie the twin, I don’t pay much attention to her though, preferring to focus on the way Emily’s mouth moves to try and pick up on the conversation without much luck. I hear JJ say my name when I see someone I’d recognise anywhere wrap his arms around Katie from behind. Emily’s face contorts in disgust while Katie lets out an excited squeal, turning around to meet him for a hug. It’s not until I hear JJ’s voice do I snap out of my trance.

“Hey, isn’t that…”

“Carter… yeah.”


	7. The Truth (I'll Never Tell)

"I need to warn her, or get him away from them, or… something!" I pleaded with the room.

"Listen Nai, we don't know what he's up to alright? The fuckin' snake could be doing anything to manipulate her cus' maybe he spotted you with her or he has some other weird reason for hanging around Red's twin but whatever it is can't be good" Cook tried to reason with me, "I'm not saying do nothing… I'm just saying be smart, don't go in all guns blazing."

"He has a point, he really does but I just can't help but want to head over there now and warn her about Carter. He's bad news, yes there was a time when we called him family but not now… Gina might be willing to forgive and Anthea would love nothing more than to have him back, but there is no doubt that he is not the same kid they once knew.

"I'm going tonight" I tell them.

"We know" Effy replied smirking "Cook and I will lay low in the area in case of any interference."

"You don't have to do that, I can take care of myself."

"We know that Naomikins" Cook smiles patting my shoulder "we just want to make it easier for you babe."

 

I sigh before agreeing. Arguing with them about it won't get me anywhere and I need some time alone to think about how to tell Emily. I mean I can't just go up to her and say 'hey I saw you at the supermarket and also my evil brother is the guy who's all over your sister' can I?

"I'm going to go upstairs for a bit, think about what I'm going to tell her" I tell them.

"It'll be alright Naomi" JJ says speaking up for the first time since the conversation about Carter started.

"Thanks Jay" I half-heartedly smile in his direction before heading up to my room.

 

"So have you decided what you're telling her yet?" Effy asked as we made our way to Emily's apartment.

 

"I have" I told her hoping she'd let it go, I don't need anyone else's comments making me second guess my decision.

"Okay" she nodded "as long as you believe what you're doing is the right thing then we're behind you 100%."

"I'm not entirely surprised by her support but it still means a lot, Effy's pretty intuitive, she wouldn't let me do something she thought was too stupid.

"Okay Naoms this is where Eff and I stop" Cook announces coming to a halt across the road from Emily's, "we'll patrol the area so all you have to worry about is her" he winked at me.

"Thanks guys, just shout if you need me" I tell them preparing to jump.

"We won't" they chorus making me roll my eyes.

I step off the building, rebounding off of the middle of the road and propel myself onto the roof of Emily's apartment building landing as softly as possible. The last thing I want to do is scare her or alert anyone else to my presence.

I make my way to the edge of the roof, listening out for signs of anyone else inside her apartment. Once I'm confident enough that she's alone I quietly drop onto her balcony and knock on the glass door. I really hope she's alright with me dropping in on her like this.

It doesn't take long before I can see her approaching from the direction of her front door. She looks surprised when she sees me but the smile that spread across her face calms my nerves.

"Hey" she smiles sliding open the glass door, "I wasn't expecting to see you quite this soon."

"To be honest I didn't expect to either but something came up and I really need to talk to you" I explained, "could we go inside?"

"Yeah, of course" Emily stood aside to let me pass her before closing the door and following me to the couch, "Is something wrong?"

Damn, I didn't mean to make her worried, I just need to explain.

"Sort of" I started trying to gather my thoughts, "I realise that that isn't exactly a helpful answer but I'll explain."

"Okay, whenever you're ready" she took my hand on hers and gestured for me to sit beside her, keeping our hands linked.

"I saw you earlier today" good start Naoms, yep I just need to keep telling myself that, "at the supermarket with your sister…"

"Were you following me?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrow in question.

"Not at all" I managed a small laugh "we just needed some shopping… but the guy that was there, the one that hugged your sister…"

"You mean that creepy perv?" she tensed up "he isn't on the run for murder or something is he?"

"Not exactly…" she seemed to relax a little at that "he's my brother."

Diving straight in and blurting it out, way to stick to those plans you made.

"What? That guy is a superhero?"

"No. not anymore, the night I walked you home was actually the first night I'd seen him in well over a year. When I said he's my brother I mean that he was, not now, not after some of the things I've seen him do."

"Leape-"

"Naomi" I mumbled "you can call me Naomi…"

The corner of her mouth twitched as her eyes lit up "that's a lovely name… Naomi" I don't think my name has ever sounded more beautiful before, "…what about this guy made you have to come tell me about him the same day?"

"He's done some really crappy things" I shook my head thinking about them "he's… let people die without so much as a glance, let his power go to his head… but most of all I think he's become deranged, he isn't the same kid I grew up with."

I could feel her squeeze my hand as a sign of support, as her fingers fit perfectly between my own I smiled and made up my mind on the one thing I hadn't been as sure about before I arrived. Now was as good a time as ever and I'd better do it before I somehow talk myself out of it. I slowly slipped my fingers from hers as I raised my hands to my hood pulling it down, my heart couldn't help but skip a little at the smile she was trying to hide while watching me. Once the hood was time I pulled off the black beanie I had on underneath allowing my platinum blonde hair to fall to my shoulders. Lastly I slid my right hand back into her grip before bringing my left up to my face, she must have felt me hesitate slightly as she held on to me tighter to show her support, and with that last piece of encouragement I pulled down the bandana leaving it around my neck.

Time seemed to stop around us as my heart beat as hard and fast as it ever had. This was the first time I'd ever let my identity be known to anyone outside of our family before. It was terrifying, like beyond terrifying and I've leapt off burning buildings before. I needn't have been so worried though when she raised her hand and placed it gently on my cheek, I sighed contently leaning into the warm touch.

"You're beautiful" I looked up at her words, deep brown eyes met my icy blue ones and I could tell she meant it.

The next few seconds are a blur because before I know it her mouth is on mine. I don't know who initiated the kiss, it was probably a mixture of both of us, but nothing on this earth could make me complain or want to stop. The kiss was soft and sweet, neither of us really wanting it to go any further just now, we parted with both of us smiling like idiots.

I sighed shaking my head lightly "as much as I'd love to continue this, we should probably talk."

The shorter girl groaned "I know, we probably should" she moved her body slightly back from mine as if to remove the temptation for either of us to lean back in, "so tell me what he's done."

"I mean where exactly do I begin" I let out a sour chuckle, "there's a long history to go through about Carter."

"Wait, what did you call him?"

"Carter, did he not tell you his name?"

"Not exactly" she shook her head in disbelief "he told us his name was Jonah, Jonah-"

"-Jerimiah" I finished.

"How did you know that?" she asked quizzically, obviously not having expected me to know his fake name.

 

"Because, that's my brothers name" he was posing as JJ, the question in my mind though was what for? Why use JJ? I mean if he'd wanted to use anyone's identity he could have picked Cook, they'd had more altercations than he and JJ had ever had.

"So he's pretending to be your other brother?"

 

"I'm afraid so, I just don't know why yet" I mused, something was definitely wrong with this picture but I couldn't figure it out on my own, no this called for more brain power, "I know it's a bit Sudden" I started, staring into those beautiful brown eyes I was becoming so fond of, "but would you like to meet my siblings?"


End file.
